ISAS Working Papers

Energy security, meaning the sustainable and uninterrupted supply of energy at all times at an affordable price is in one way or another interlinked with a number of other global issues such as climate change, development, and most importantly armed conflict. Energy security not only affects the economic and foreign policies of countries but shapes regional geopolitics. No matter what alternative energy sources are developed in times to come, hydrocarbons (especially oil and gas) are likely to remain the bulk of energy sources for the foreseeable future. The uneven distribution of supply and demand of hydrocarbons in the world1, along with an unprecedented increase in demand from China, India and Pakistan's rising economies, will have repercussion, not only for the hydrocarbon markets but also for the geopolitics of South Asian region and the wider world.